New Data Shows the Link Between Digital
Infrastructure and Nationwide Job Growth
- Improvement in digital infrastructure leads to increased
microbusiness activity, engagement, and job creation.
- It's now a baseline to have strong connectivity and proper
infrastructure in your community, which wasn't the case
pre-COVID-19.
- Investment in infrastructure can level the playing field
TEMPE,
Ariz., Sept. 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Job
creation due to digital infrastructure investment skyrocketed since
the start of the pandemic. Recent data from GoDaddy and UCLA
Anderson Forecast shows that digital infrastructure improvement
created 280,000+ jobs nationwide - equivalent to the population of
Reno - between April 2020 and March
2024.
However, not all regions are created equal. The South and
Southeast regions of the United
States, in particular, experienced unparalleled growth in
microbusiness activity and job creation due to investments and
improvements in digital infrastructure. The states with the highest
growth in the infrastructure index over the last four years
include:
These findings stem from GoDaddy's Venture Forward research
initiative and UCLA Anderson Forecast. The organizations
jointly publish the Microbusiness Activity Index (MAI)
report every year to quantify, measure, and compare microbusiness
activity across communities and nationwide over time. The
Microbusiness Activity Index is comprised of three subindices:
Digital infrastructure (how easy it is to access internet and
computers and the availability of local human capital),
Participation (how many microbusiness entrepreneurs and ventures
there are), and Engagement (how active the websites are). The data
also shows that a one-point increase in the infrastructure index,
which encompasses human capital and digital elements like broadband
and computer accessibility, corresponds to an increase of 89 jobs
in a county.
"Reliable access to strong broadband connectivity is really the
key to greater economic opportunity and prosperity, particularly
when combined with the skills to use it for business ventures,"
said Alexandra Rosen, Global Head of
Venture Forward. "The research captures how investment made in
digital infrastructure further levels the playing field for
entrepreneurs across the country."
"The correlation between increased digital infrastructure and
microbusiness activity further points to the pivotal role good
connectivity plays in economic growth," said William Yu, UCLA Anderson Forecast economist.
"Nationwide, regions are prioritizing their broadband investment,
and as a result, creating more jobs."
To learn more about the Microbusiness Activity Index and how
microbusinesses influence local and national economies, visit
https://www.godaddy.com/ventureforward/explore-the-data/?cfips=28049/
About GoDaddy Venture Forward
GoDaddy's Venture Forward research initiative analyzes more than
20 million online businesses with a digital presence (measured by a
unique domain and an active website). Most of these businesses
employ fewer than ten people, categorizing each as a microbusiness.
To find out more about GoDaddy's Venture Forward research, visit:
www.godaddy.com/ventureforward.
About GoDaddy
GoDaddy (NYSE: GDDY) helps millions of entrepreneurs globally
start, grow, and scale their businesses. People come to GoDaddy to
name their idea, build a professional website, attract customers,
sell their products and services, and accept payments online and in
person. GoDaddy's easy-to-use tools help microbusiness owners
manage everything in one place, and its expert guides are available
to provide assistance 24/7. To learn more about the company, visit
www.GoDaddy.com.
About UCLA Anderson Forecast
UCLA Anderson Forecast is one of the most widely watched and
often-cited economic outlooks for California and the nation and was unique in
predicting both the seriousness of the early-1990s downturn in
California and the strength of the
state's rebound since 1993. The Forecast was credited as the first
major U.S. economic forecasting group to call the recession of 2001
and, in March 2020, it was the first
to declare that the recession caused by the COVID-19 pandemic had
already begun.
www.uclaforecast.com
About UCLA Anderson School of Management
UCLA Anderson School of Management is among the leading business
schools in the world, with faculty members globally renowned for
their teaching excellence and research in advancing management
thinking. Located in Los Angeles,
a gateway to the growing economies of Latin America and Asia and a city that personifies innovation in
a diverse range of endeavors, UCLA Anderson's MBA, Fully Employed
MBA, Executive MBA, UCLA-NUS Executive MBA, Master of Financial
Engineering, Master of Science in Business Analytics, doctoral and
executive education programs embody the school's Think in the Next
ethos. Annually, some 1,800 students are trained to be global
leaders seeking the business models and community solutions of
tomorrow.
www.anderson.ucla.edu
Source: GoDaddy Inc.
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SOURCE GoDaddy